The Office of the City Clerk can provide copies of numerous documents including marriage, death and birth certificates, copies of municipal ordinances, business certificates and records of the City Council. Dog licenses may be obtained from the office. The Office acts as agent for the sale of Massachusetts sporting, hunting and fishing licenses. Town and city records dating to 1640 are maintained by the Office. The Office works with the Board of Registrars of Voters in maintaining election and voting records. The Office works with the City Council in accepting and processing all City Council petitions including special permits and licenses. Justice of the Peace and Notary Public services are also available.
Office Information
William C. Campbell, CMC, City Clerk
Woburn City Hall
10 Common Street
Woburn, Massachusetts 01801
Telephone: (781) 932-4450
Fax: (781) 932-4455
email: wcampbell@ci.woburn.ma.us
Hours
Hours are Monday through Wednesday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Thursday: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Location
The Office of the City Clerk is located on the
first floor at City Hall. The telephone number
is (781) 932-4450
BIRTH, MARRIAGE AND DEATH CERTIFICATES
Copies of birth, death and marriage certificates can be obtained from the City Clerk either by visiting the office in person or by mail. Copies are $3.00 each.
Birth records are generally available in Woburn if the child was born in Woburn or if the parents were residing in Woburn at the time of the birth. Marriage records are available from the city where the original paperwork was filed by the couple regardless of where the marriage ceremony was held. Death records are available in the city where the death occurred and the city in which the decedent resided. If a death took place out of Massachusetts it is rare that a copy is sent to the decedent’s resident community in Massachusetts. If a birth or death occurred outside Woburn, it can take several months for the resident copy to be received in Woburn. A copy can be obtained immediately from the city where the death occurred. A marriage certificate is available once the original is filed by the officiant.
OBTAINING A MARRIAGE LICENSE
Planning Your Wedding
In Massachusetts one of the most important steps
in planning for a wedding – whether a religious
or secular ceremony – is obtaining a marriage
license. If the wedding is to be performed in
Massachusetts, the couple can obtain the license
from any City Clerk or Town Clerk in Massachusetts
The Office of the City Clerk is ready to assist you in completing this part of your wedding preparations.
Application Hours
Monday – Wednesday 9:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 6:45 p.m.
Friday 9:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
It is recommended that you arrive 1 hour before the office closes.
Premarital Blood Examination
The couple should contact their physician to arrange for a premarital blood examination. The physician will present a separate and original Premarital Medical Certificate Form to the Bride and Groom. The Certificates must be signed by a physician.
Important Dates to Remember
You must file the Marriage Intention no later than 30 days after the blood examination. You cannot receive your Marriage License until the fourth day after filing the Intention, unless a court order is obtained. The wedding ceremony must be performed within 60 days of the date of filing the Marriage Intention.
What do I do with the license?
Bring the original license to the officiant of the wedding. The officiant will sign and return the license directly to the City Clerk or Town Clerk that issued the license.
What do I do to obtain a marriage license?
The Bride and Groom
must go together to the Office of the City Clerk.
The Marriage Intention must be completed by the
couple in person in the Office of the City Clerk.
Marriage Intention forms cannot be mailed or taken
out of the office. The couple should each bring
a positive photo identification with proof of
age such as a driver’s license or passport
and the filing fee of $56.00. The Premarital Medical
Certificate Form signed by a physician can be
filed at the time of filing the Intention or at
the time the License issues. The couple should
consider the date and place of the wedding, the
name of the officiant and the name that the Bride
or Groom will use after the wedding. The Bride
or the Groom can pick up the Marriage License
on the fourth day after the filing of the Intention.
After the wedding;
obtaining a Marriage Certificate - How do I get
a copy of my license?
The officiant will sign and return the original marriage license to the City Clerk or Town Clerk that issued the license. Once the license is received in the Office of the City Clerk or Town Clerk, the couple can obtain a Marriage Certificate. If the Bride or Groom changes his or her name following the wedding an original Marriage Certificate will have to be obtained by the couple for Social Security. At least one other original Marriage Certificate should be obtained for the couple’s records.
A Marriage Certificate can only be obtained from the City Clerk or Town Clerk that issued the license even if the ceremony was performed in another community or the couple moves. A certified copy can also be obtained from the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics at
150 Mt. Vernon Street
First Floor
Dorchester, Massachusetts 02125-2714 or by calling them at (617) 740-2600
When you apply for a license from the Office of the Woburn City Clerk you may also pre-pay for certified copies. Once the original is received in the office from the officiant, the copies will be mailed to the address that you requested.
GENEAOLOGY
Woburn is fortunate in that it has a continuous series of records from the day of its earliest settling in 1640. Unlike many older communities, there has never been a catastrophe that resulted in the loss of records.
However, many of the records are brittle. Surprisingly, the records from the 1800s tend to be more fragile than the older records due to the type of paper used at the time.
Woburn also maintains an integrated vital record
filing system. There are many records that are
classified as restricted records with access limited
to certain individuals, such as a birth out of
wedlock or the subsequent marriage certificate
of any individual who was born out of wedlock.
These records over the years have been permanently
bound or "integrated" with the open
records.
Due to the fragile nature of many of the documents
and the fact that there are restricted records
integrated with open records, the records are
not available in a public manner for inspection.
The staff in the Office of the City Clerk will
search the records and obtain copies as requested.
Copies of vital records can be obtained in two manners – either over the counter or by mail to the Office of the City Clerk. The fee for certified copies of records is $3.00 per copy and there is no additional charge just because the record is "old." Search fees are generally not charged unless the record search is extensive. You will be advised before a search begins if a search charge will apply.
If there is a specific birth record that you are seeking, you can supply the staff with the name of the child and the date of birth. For marriage certificates, provide the name or names of the married couple and the date of the marriage. For death certificates, provide the name of the decedent and the date of death. Unless you are certain of the information, it is recommended that you not provide payment until the staff confirms that the record is on file.
If you are not certain whether or not a record is on file in the Office of the Woburn City Clerk, a search can be conducted. For any births or deaths prior to 1900 and marriages prior to 1890, you may consult the "Woburn Record of Births, Deaths, and Marriages" complied by the Honorable Edward F. Johnson. Copies are available for public inspection at the Woburn Public Library and at times copies are available for sale from internet booksellers. The staff of the Office of the City Clerk can also conduct a search of the records. Please provide as much information as possible, such as names and the approximate date of the event. Keep in mind that in the early records of Woburn there were fewer family names and therefore there may be many records with the same first and last name.
Once it is confirmed that a record is on file, the staff will notify you and advise you of the fee for obtaining the copy. Most of the earlier records do not have actual certificates but rather are entries in ledger books. The staff will prepare a certificate based on the information in the ledger books. For many early records there is little more than the name and date of birth available.
DOG LICENSES
Local ordinances require that every dog over the age of three months that resides in the City must be licensed. The licenses are for the calendar year and must be renewed each year. The registration period generally begins December 1st of each year through March 15th of the next year. After March 15th, late charges apply.
You may register your dog in person at the office of the City Clerk or by mail. Tear-off registration forms are attached to the annual census form that is mailed to residents in January or February of each year. Clip and mail coupons are also published by the local newspapers.
The fee for registering a spayed or neutered dog is $10.00 per year and for un-spayed or un-neutered dogs the fee is $15.00 per year. If more than three dogs are kept a kennel license must be obtained and you can contact the Office of the City Clerk for further details.
Mail-In Dog Registration Form
For each dog to be registered send:
• The form below or a photocopy
• Original current rabies certificate
• Original spaying/neutering certificate (unless dog has been previously registered as spayed or neutered)
• Self-addressed stamped envelope
• A check made payable to the City of Woburn
Mail all of the above to:
Office of the City Clerk Woburn City Hall
10 Common Street
Woburn, Massachusetts 01801
Name: ____________________________________
Address: __________________________________
Phone: _________________
Dog’s Name: _____________ Age:_______
Color: ________ Breed: ___________
Check One:
Unspayed/Unneutered $15.00 ________
Neutered/Spayed: $10.00_________
For dogs over 3 months of age residing in the City of Woburn prior to April 15th of each year, a late fee of $5.00 is due for dogs registered after March 15th and a late fee of $10.00 is due for dogs registered after April 15th.
Rabies certificate, spayed/neutered certificate, license and tag will be returned by mail.
FISHING AND HUNTING LICENSES
The City Clerk is also an agent for the sale of Massachusetts Hunting and Fishing licenses. Licenses are available during regular business hours. For more information concerning hunting and fishing licenses, obtaining a fishing or hunting license on line, and fish and wildlife laws in Massachusetts, see the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife website at www.mass.gov/masswildlife
PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE
The Office of the City Clerk publishes the Annual Street List (also known as the Poll Book or the Residents List), the Woburn Municipal Code, the Woburn Zoning Ordinances, Directory of Municipal Offices and Handbook of the City Council of the City of Woburn. A revised copy of the Woburn Traffic Ordinances is in the process of being updated and will be available in the near future
.
Fees for paper copies:
Annual Street List $25.00
Woburn City Municipal Code $15.00
Woburn Zoning Ordinances $15.00
Directory of Municipal Offices $5.00
Handbook of the City Council $3.00
The Municipal Code and the Zoning Ordinances are also available on line at the links below.
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